In a world of hypothetical face-offs, who would win in a contest between Babe Ruth and Pikachu? The ground rules and context for such a conflict might consume a pub debate for considerable hours, but there’s one area where it’s an everyday consideration and has a data-based winner… collectible trading cards.
With trading cards more popular than ever, now’s a great time to get started or to grow your existing collection. Even better, eBay.com.au is currently offering up to AU$100 off eligible trading card purchases – head to the eBay Trading Cards homepage for more details.
And here’s the answer: Baseball cards have been part of western popular culture since before Babe Ruth started swinging a bat in the 1910s, and have appeared (or been mentioned) in countless top-rated cherished American TV shows since the television became popular in the 1950s. But does that all add up to an advantage over a Japanese anime character from the 90s? Just. A super-rare, rather-worn, 1914 Babe Ruth card sold for US$6,000,000 in 2021, while a mint condition gem Pokémon card (‘gem’ means it’s perfectly printed with no defects) was bought by Logan Paul for US$4,900,000 – and worn as a diamond-encrusted necklace at Wrestlemania 38 – earlier this year.
What caused the recent boom in popularity?
When much of the world became housebound and bored in 2020, many people took the opportunity to clean their homes out. Properly. For the first time in decades, in some cases. In many instances, cherished old toys and collections were unearthed (including collectible trading cards) and, with everyone starved of things to do, a collecting revival ramped up and some highly desirable, super-rare treasures hit the market. According to eBay’s figures, the overall market jumped by over 140% in 2021, with the popularity of Pokémon trading exploding by 500%. In Australia, moreover, the market grew by a world-leading 389% at that time.
The most collectible trading cards are spread across two main categories and are generally even in popularity: collectible card games and sports, although there are many subcategories and other types too. Nonetheless, Pokémon and NBA are the runaway leaders, with Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic: The Gathering and NFL the other big popular brands.
In terms of high-value Pokémon cards, Pikachu, Black Lotus and a rare hologram-based Charizard card are what you’re after, while for sports cards, keep an eye out for megastars Rookie cards. In terms of popularity and volume, young NBA stars like Josh Giddey and Ja Morant trail Michael Jordan.
If you’re interested in perusing cards related to your favourite pastime, fancy starting (or expanding) a collection in trading cards because it appeals to you, or simply recognise that buying trading cards can be an investment that potentially pays off handsomely, eBay has you covered.
Why eBay is the home of collectible trading cards
The first reason to use eBay for buying collectible trading cards is that you’ll struggle to find collectible cards in any stores. Many simply stopped selling them because the high demand led to fights breaking out between collectors wanting to buy any new packs – or boxes of packs – as soon as they hit the market. The second reason is that trust and provenance has become incredibly important: where there’s money and demand, there are scammers. With its many years of experience of operating in these areas, eBay’s strong buyer protection policies help ensure you’re actually getting what you pay for when you hand over your money.
And right now, there’s also a third good reason to shop trading cards on eBay…
eBay is offering up to AU$100 off trading card purchases in September
eBay has just launched another of its Spend & Save promotions for collectible trading cards. If you want to buy individual cards or packs or boxes – or anything related to buying them – you’ll be able to get up to AU$100 off, depending on how much you spend. The offer runs throughout September.
The offer is separated into three brackets:
- Spend AU$250 – AU$499 and get AU$35 off
- Spend AU$500 – AU$999 and get AU$70 off
- Spend AU$1,000+ and get AU$100 off
To activate the deal, use the coupon code CARDSAV at checkout.
This offer starts September 1, 2022 and runs for a limited time only, and it can be accessed via eBay’s trading card landing pages and subsections. These are the four most popular:
- Trading cards: The homepage for buying and selling all kinds of trading cards.
- Collectible card games & accessories: This page focuses on categories such as Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh!
- Sports trading cards and accessories: The location for the likes of NBA, NFL and baseball cards along with those from all other sports. This includes Australian NRL and AFL too.
- Non-sport trading cards & accessories: This page includes all manner of collectible trading card related items such as cards, albums and sleeves. There are also positions available on “Box Breaking teams” which is where a syndicate clubs together to buy a box containing rare cards and you receive the cards at an agreed point of the opening event. The openings are done live on video streams and are governed by numerous rules and regulations to ensure fair play.
Whatever your passion, there’s a huge world of collectible trading cards out there to jump into, whether they’re evoking nostalgic memories or represent the opportunity for added pecuniary value. So head on over to eBay and see what you can discover!
(You can find the full promotion Terms & Conditions here.)